Marlene Eick

...you are forced to come face to face with the changes in your life.

“Height and weight the same?”

“Has your address changed?”

And, of course, the photograph documenting how much you have aged.

Ah, the process of renewing a driver’s license. Fun, isn’t it? OK, probably not, especially if you have a horrible BMV. Fortunately for me, yesterday’s personal experience at the local BMV was completely tolerable. But aside from pondering the ATM fees you’re going to incur because you once again forgot that the BMV only takes cash or check and of course you left the checkbook at home, the ban on cell phone usage leaves you with your own thoughts while you wait for your number to be called.

So I thought back to four years ago. I had recently left a full-time position to try out my entrepreneurial pursuits. I had just begun the process of painting and decorating our new home. I believe certain pairs of jeans fit a little better. And I didn’t know how to make pasta sauce from scratch.

Life looks a little different today. I’m working on great projects that I love. We’re in the process of selling that home and have moved across the state. I’ve let my health get away from me a little. I’ve learned a lot in the kitchen but still have a long ways to go. Some changes have been intentional; some, have not.

Four years from now I’ll wait my turn at the BMV again. What will I reflect on then? What will I choose to be intentional about? What changes will have taken place because I intentionally worked in that direction?

It’s cold in my office. I’m wearing a long-sleeved tee and a down vest and I’m cold. My feet are freezing. Sure, part of it is the whole process of growing accustomed to the cooler fall temperatures. Mostly, however, it is my inability to go next door and ask my landlord to adjust the thermostat.

The kind gentleman who owns our office building occupies the office across the hall. The thermostat for the entire building happens to be located in his office. The temperature tends to be a little cold/warm in the evenings and on weekends, as his staff is typically in during normal business hours.

So on a Saturday in the summer, I might start sweating. On a Thursday evening in January, I’ll need a blanket. All because I cannot go next door and ask about the thermostat settings.

When we moved into this office, our landlord even offered up that I could, at any time, stop over and let them know if we needed a different temperature. And yet, here I sit.

Why is so difficult to ask questions sometimes? Earlier this year, a colleague confessed that she sometimes found it difficult to engage in direct conversations with superiors. You might be hesitating to ask your department head for project funding. You might be delaying that conversation you need to have with your mother about something as simple as moving Thanksgiving dinner. You might not want to talk your landlord about turning up the heat.

And why? Maybe it’s because you haven't invested in that relationship to the point where you feel like you can ask something of it. Maybe it’s because you don’t feel confident in yourself. Or maybe it’s because you don’t know how to communicate your idea.

Whatever it is, figure out the WHY and then go to work on it. Once you take care of the WHY, having those conversations and/or asking those questions will be a whole heck of a lot easier.

And here is where is gets tricky. Sometimes the WHY is real, but a whole lot of times the WHY is just crap we tell ourselves. Feeling not credible enough to have that conversation? Probably crap. Not sure if you have the skills to ask for that project? Probably crap. Afraid you don’t have the authority to ask that question? Probably crap.

It seems that as a woman, the crap enters our thoughts pretty easily. What would happen if you push the crap aside?

For me, today it means doing something small like asking the landlord about turning up the heat during off-hours. Tomorrow it will mean putting aside the crap in my head telling me I’m not a credible speaker. Later this week it will mean deleting the crap in my head that says I’m not capable of making a difference.

In response to yesterday's post, David White mentioned in a comment another strategy you can learn from man's best friend - When it's time to go, we go! That one in particular really resonated with me because I also heard the same thing from a coach I follow online and it's something I've always struggled with - maybe you, too? I always want to FEEL 100% ready before taking even the first step (except you NEVER feel 100% ready for anything, ever). I often doubt whether I have the skills necessary for the adventure, so I contemplate if trying is worth the potential failure. I always want to read one more book, see one more article, find one more success story before starting out.

Trip never wonders that. If he hears even the slightest suggestion that someone might be heading out, he is all in. And if you say the magic words, LET'S GO!, he never questions if he's ready. He's jumped up from his current lounging position and is AT. THE. DOOR. And in our old farmhouse, he's figured out how to open the back porch screen door, so he doesn't even have to wait on us for that part. He can go from dog bed to truck bed in about 3 seconds flat.

Stop waiting for everything to be perfect before starting. JUST START. Just start doing. It won't be perfect, but you'll be further ahead in the end then if you waited for the perfect scenario to start (which, by the way, will never come).

I've been "working" on some new ideas for about 5-6 months now, which is code for "not feeling ready enough so I'm going to tell myself that I have to read these four more books first and have at least three more good conversations before I can start". And today is it. I've decided that today is the last day of that crap. I'm doing it - if I were Trip, I'd be heading for the door without reservation.

What is it for you? Seriously, what's your thing-you-haven't-felt-ready-to-start? Starting a new business venture? Kickstarting your health? Taking on a community challenge? Taking a class? For real, I want to know. I'm getting real about my coaching and training business, which I kinda, sorta, little bit began 5-6 months ago but now I'm gonna get moving on. I love teaching and I love helping people tell their stories. So I'm doing it.

Earlier this morning when B.J. and our dog Trip arrived at the office, Trip commenced his usual office arrival routine, which includes running around all the spaces, saying hi to everyone here, and generally being incredibly excited to be here. It’s as if he just knows that something absolutely fantastic is about to happen and he is pumped up about it. Within a few minutes, however, he realizes it’s just another day at the office and submits to laying on the rug by the door or his dog bed by my desk.

What if I had that same enthusiasm for each work day? And not because I knew something fantastic was going to happen to me, but because I was going to make something fantastic happen? Not every day will be “epic”, but those “something fantastic” moments can simply be reaching out to that new prospective client I’ve been meaning to email but am feeling insecure about or getting feedback from colleagues on an idea I’ve been working on. Maybe if I more intentionally worked at making those things happen, I’d naturally feel the same way Trip does each day he arrives at the office.

Maybe the pup knows something I have yet to learn...

Success comes in many forms and from a myriad of paths. Here's a hit list of a dozen things you can do TODAY to get your work and your career closer to success.

Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders writes daily about next generation leadership, parenting and Generation Y.